Lives Reimagined through art
This is not a festival as usual. This is a pulse check.
SICK! has a new rhythm. Creative Resuscitation: Festival CPR shifts our biennial festival to a year-round movement. A tempo that turns audiences into creators. Swaps burnout for sustained care. Starts a cultural flow between local roots and global partners.
Beat One is where we begin.
The first pulse in a cycle of bold experiments. Beat One creates space for participants, artists and partners to Collapse what no longer serves, Prototype and prepare, and Reimagine the future of SICK!
This is our invitation. Make meaningful, joyful and courageous art with us. Rooted in North Manchester and extending beyond borders, we choose to create, not wait, for fairer futures.
Creative Resuscitation is a rehearsal and a reimagining.
Festival CPR is how we do it.
A living prototype of programme strands, our Presentations, Social Prescribing and Creative Pathways are animated by performance, participation and collective care, unfolding over time.
Presentations
Get involved, Find a new rhythm
Engage with vital artists and artworks that put lived experiences of health, inequality and identity centre stage.
EXXY
EXXY (Aussie slang for, ‘that’s expensive, mate’) takes us on an epic and tender journey back to where Dan Daw began – working class, with very little.
Come From Away
Moston’s award-winning musical theatre company presents Come From Away, an uplifting true story of kindness, community, and humanity set in Gander, Newfoundland after 9/11.
Dinner with Krishna Istha & Geetha Shankar
Join Krishna and Geetha for a community dinner for trans people and their parents, guardians, elders and chosen family, sharing food, conversation and connection in a warm, inclusive space together.
Second Trimester
One Stage. Two Generations. Endless Drama. Based on a true story, Second Trimester asks: how well can you ever really know your parents?
Sperm Donors Wanted!
Follow Krishna Istha, a transgender artist interviewing live sperm donors, exploring queer family-making, connection, and the search for the perfect donor to start a family.
Free for Second Trimester ticket holders (7pm & 7.20pm screenings).
(I) Miss America
Girls are safe in the USA… until they’re born.
(I) Miss America is a multidisciplinary live art project evoking the central hypocrisy and the dystopian present of Post-Roe v. Wade, gun-loving America, in solidarity with people fighting for abortion rights and bodily autonomy across the globe.
Screening (4:49 minutes) takes place within an installation setting. Free, no booking required:Fri 29, 6pm-7.45pm / Sat 4-7.45pm
PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD
Ridiculed then revered, The Shaggs were once called the best worst band in the world. Now their strange and legendary story gets the biopic it never asked for.
BEAT ONE AFTERPARTY
Join us from 9pm – 11pm on 30 May for SICK!’s Festival CPR – Beat One Afterparty. The Taxidermist (Stacy Faye) spins house, electro, disco and vocal anthems to keep you moving. Let the first Beat resonate. It’s time to celebrate together.
No ticket required, just turn up.
Creative Pathways
Where conversation inspires creation
Get right into the heart of things. Shape ideas, influence commissions and build skills for the future.
Building the Auntiverse (Crumpsall)
Have you ever wondered what the world would look like if it was designed by aunties? Join writer and activist afshan d’souza-lodhi for a welcoming workshop exploring care, resilience and new ways of living together.
PRO Class: BUILDING BETTER WORLDS
Step into Dan Daw Creative Projects’ process with Dan Daw and director Sarah Blanc. Through movement, writing and conversation, explore resilience and generate new material in a supportive, inclusive space for artists who’ve felt they don’t quite belong.
Stories of a Queer Home
How do we make a place a home as queer people? Join composer Michael Betteridge for a welcoming workshop exploring identity, community and belonging through music, storytelling and shared creativity.
Building the Auntiverse (Harpurhey)
Have you ever wondered what the world would look like if it was designed by aunties? Join writer and activist afshan d’souza-lodhi for a welcoming workshop exploring care, resilience and new ways of living together.
Calendar
We've been busy behind the scenes.
Our vision is evolving, our award-winning year-round programmes are growing, and a bold new chapter is unfolding with our new brand.
SICK! is more than a festival. We're a North Manchester-based arts organisation with local roots and global collaborations, using arts and creativity to connect people, communities, and artists, making everyone creators of fairer, healthier futures.
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Social Prescribing
Making space for creativity as care
Build confidence and spark connection through inclusive, artist-led sessions that support mental wellbeing.
Music and Mental Health with Hypes
Manchester grime artist Hypes shares tracks from his forthcoming show The Treatment, exploring ADHD and mental health, alongside creative exercises and conversation about writing, music and lived experience.